NANTES, France -- Hundreds of dead dolphins were washed up the coastal area of Nantes, France from the Atlantic. After months of recorded sightings, several dolphins were also reported to be bring stuck in fishing nets. All of these are contained in the report released by the Pelagis observatory on Thursday.
"There has been around 1,200 small cetaceans found along the coast of the Biscay Bay. most of which were commonly identified as dolphins," said Olivier Van Canneyt, the biologist at the Pelagis Observatory.
It is their office that released the details in the number of dolphins that were seen dead and washed up along the French Coast facing the Atlantic Ocean. Their reports also show that these scenarios have been repeatedly happening each year since 2017 and the number of dead dolphins turning up in the coast is growing each year. They warned that if such deaths continue, the species might be totally wiped out in the area.
"In mid-February and mid-March, they have recorded deaths of such species due to the currents being stronger around those times which was caused by low-pressure conditions. This report was noted by Van Canneyt, the agency's birds and sea mammals. The observatory also included in its report that after they conducted an examination on the dolphins carcasses, they saw that more than 85% of the total number of deaths show signs of accidental capture.
Majority of the recorded deaths were due to accidental capture, mostly because they were caught in fishing nets which led to their suffocation.
When the dolphins hunt for the sea bass for food, they come up in the level of the oceans where fishing fleets are also set out. These events usually happen at the same time, especially during the winter months in the region. Such occurrence may have led for more dolphins getting hurt in the people's attempt to catch fish for consumption and business.
Despite efforts to reduce the number of deaths of ocean creatures caused by human activity and interaction, it proves to be more difficult than one would imagine. The environment minister of France, Francois de Rugy said that their agency is working out a plan that will help reduce the number of deaths. They plan to release the plan 'by the end of the year.'
